The Life After Death
by Cassie's Neighbor
Summary: Annabeth's unexpected death shatters a lot of hearts, especially those who are close to her. In a world full of temptation, agony, and infidelity, Percy tries to hold on to one thing. Her. Read how the son of Poseidon deals with the death of a loved one.


**A/N: I hate school. I hate being a junior in my school.**

**I am a little bit busy to update some of my stories. Sorry, guys. But I am still inspired to write another oneshot. So if you hate me so much, feel free to blowtorch me, but I hope you are not as angry to read and review this story. This is a supposed LukexThalia angst-y oneshot, but the little PercyxAnnabeth girly girl inside my head was a little too persistent. This is just a way to vent, so I'm sorry if this story is terrible in every way imaginable.**

**Review if you think I've done okay or if you've seen mistakes. Only made this for a few minutes and am too much of a lazy ass to proofread and I will be very glad to fix them for you.**

**The only way for me to waste my remaining energy and be happy with it is here. I solemnly think I deserve a little happiness in my gods forsaken life.**

* * *

><p><strong>Percy Jackson and the Olympians<strong>

**Title: **The Life After Death

**Summary: **Annabeth's unexpected death at a young age shatters a lot of hearts, especially those who are close to her. In a world full of temptation, agony, and infidelity, Percy tries to hold on to one thing. Her. Read how the son of Poseidon deals with the death of a loved one. PercyxAnnabeth.

**Song Prompt: **One Year Six Months by Yellowcard

* * *

><p>~0~<p>

_Tonight I can write the saddest lines…_

_My sight searches for her as though to go with her._

_My heart looks for her, and she is not with me…_

_Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer_

_And these the last verses that I write for her._

_~ Pablo Neruda (excerpt from the poem "Tonight I Can Write")_

~0~

When he said he would love her forever, the Fates wove here and there, waiting for that one moment to snip. The right moment to make the loop in his forever…

~0~

The moon is up when he comes home.

Breathing the night air feels toxic in the outskirts of New York. Percy starts sipping the ice cold coffee he has been holding for forty minutes now. Still wearing the formal black and white from the funeral, depression sinks again in his heart. He finally finishes the drink in his hand and comes inside to place the mug near the sink, not opting himself to wash that single glassware. He heads to his bedroom and calls it a day.

He is tired.

And he misses her.

Percy opens the door ajar and studies the room for one quick moment. He feels that this should be the time where Annabeth would be holding up her arms after a long, exhausting day from work, where she would be smiling softly at him, and that familiar feeling would course through him that maybe, maybe things would get better the next day. That nothing would ever go wrong.

They were supposed to be growing old together.

One wet tear rolls down from his cheek.

~0~

After weeks of pestering him, Grover is ecstatic that Percy finally agreed to a boys' night-out in the city.

"You need some spacing out, Perce," Grover interjects when the son of Poseidon whines about another of the satyr's attempts to budge him. "We've got to celebrate your promotion. Isn't that what normal people do?"

Percy wants to say that not a single inch of him is normal, but decides against it and holds his tongue. He misses hanging out with Grover very much that regret gives him a good sucker punch. The feeling makes him nod. He heaves a sigh. "Alright. I'm going. But no strippers, Grover. And I don't want a drunkard Nico threatening to burn the bar down again like last time."

They start moving across the front line, ignoring the tough guys at the corner sneering at them. The excessive lighting that blasts from the ceiling makes Percy want to hurl. The trio sits at the counter, instructing the bartender to bring them the special cicadas and martinis.

Percy eyes the intoxicated ones laughing, shoving one another at the dance floor. He wrinkles his nose. "This is no way to celebrate a job promotion."

"Says who?" Nico grabs a mouthful of peanuts near the coaster.

The older boy just shakes his head and swigs a shot.

Grover takes over the conversation and talks about his journey across the world and gripes about other nature spirits that are much concerned about conquest and territories. The satyr makes wild gestures with his hands and it takes him a few tries to successfully pop peanuts directly in his mouth. Nico starts uttering profanities about some Irish girl that he had a "send-off party" from work.

Percy blatantly laughs at his friends' banter and gives the proper remarks, dropping them at right intervals. He's glad that he's hanging out with his friends for the first time in months rather than moping around his apartment, chugging down junk and beer. But he's not really in the proper mood to be wasted and get a mind splitting headache in the morning.

"Something wrong, Percy?" Grover asks groggily.

"It's nothing."

"You barely even touched your drink."

"I told you. It's nothing."

Nico groans. "Come on, man! How many times would you get promoted to a department head in your life? Be happy that a hydra hasn't chopped you yet in any case."

"What are you talking about?" Percy argues. "I am happy. I would have denied going to this shithole and moped around my apartment if I wasn't happy."

"She's gone, Percy."

Percy grimaces. "This isn't about her. Don't start again, Grover." It has been a long time since they've talked about Annabeth. He continuously tried to shut them out every time they brought up the subject. Percy curses the empathy link in his head.

"Yes it is! Now stop it, will you?" The wispy beard on Grover's chin starts to twist in knots. He chugs down another drink and continues. "We know you're upset. We all are. But that doesn't mean you have to be some fucked up widower every now and then. You're twenty-nine years old, dammit! You're wasting it!"

"It doesn't matter, okay? Annabeth's gone. You think I haven't realized that for three years in the running?"

"We don't think that," Nico says. "We just think that you've gone a little too overboard with everything. You don't even have kids of your own."

Percy eyes them manically. Annabeth died when she was twenty-six from kidney failure, and at that time, no one was thinking about making a family. It's one of Percy's greatest frustrations – he doesn't have a child that he can call his own. He goes home everyday from work without the sounds of children wondering about the living room and the kitchen and he wants it so bad to have something with a beating heart that can link him to his long dead wife.

He goes home without a pair of beautiful gray eyes seeing through his soul.

"I don't want to have kids," Percy bristles. _I don't want to have kids with another woman_, he adds thoughtfully in his head.

"You're lying," Nico insists. "If she was here, she'd want you to move on – "

Percy growls fitfully. "For gods sake! I'm not remarrying if that's what you're suggesting!"

"Who said anything about remarrying?"

Percy huffs again in frustration. Replacing Annabeth is unthinkable; after all they've been through… "Well, she's not here. You wouldn't know that."

"Yes we do," Grover says. "Annabeth wanted you to be happy. And clearly, you're not."

Percy is shaking in anger now. Of course he isn't happy. They were supposed to be together through and through. Growing silver hairs together, growing old together. Raising children together, going forward. And now that Annabeth left him, he feels that the world suddenly paused in grief, making him feel detached from everything, now that the reason why he is still mortal is gone.

The small of his back starts to pulse electricity through him.

Grover and Nico starts persuading him again, encouraging him.

He ends the conversation by taking his coat and stepping out of the bar. He can't bear it anymore. The ample need for celebration and sympathy goes down the drain.

~0~

It's been five years since Annabeth died.

Sometimes, things start to get better, as things always do. Percy constantly reminds himself that there's more to life than what a bunch of papers and self-motivation books are claiming. He starts trying to fill the empty spaces in his life.

Percy signs-up for piano lessons. He buys a brand-new upright that costs just as much as a regular grand piano. He knows he'll probably suck in playing the piano – he sucks in any instrument that needs a good hand-eye coordination, which means he sucks in all of them. His roots are from slaying bloodthirsty chimeras, and he'll probably fare better when his instructor turns out to be a monster.

He starts playing tennis, watches the National Geographic specials, and visits the Hoover Dam once in a while. He even plans to buy that sweet twenty-inch flat screen at the mall he regularly goes to.

But still everything he does floats back to her. She loved music. She loved tennis. She loved watching the architecture shows in Nat Geo, and he proposed to her at the restricted section at the Hoover Dam.

Whatever it is, it'll always be about her.

~0~

He's not going to lie. Percy did enjoy the company of women. Once.

Being a thirty-five year old demigod seems like an accomplishment, and it makes Percy sigh in relief that he has made it this far. Once, he considered going to a retirement home and now it seems more likely since he's all alone.

Dissuading women is one tactic he had never learned to perfect and it made things increasingly difficult when he found out that his female co-workers found him attractive. It's considerably good for guys who weren't binded in a tight leash. Yes, he is single. But damn his fatal flaw, he is not letting any girl in his life who wants more than just a simple lunch date at Macy's.

Until one girl came into view.

Daelyn Brooks starts working with Percy at the firm in July. Unlike all the other girls, she isn't vocal about her personal interests with her colleague and that makes working with her much more comfortable.

Brown-eyed, silky black hair, statuesque beauty. She looks more like a model than a regular associate is willing to allow. The two strayed away from each other until the company's Christmas gala came.

Drunk and lonely, Daelyn's mouth finds his. They are in Daelyn's bedroom condo. Percy doesn't hesitate in kissing her back as his brain starts to clog up and go misty when he hears her moan in satisfaction. She nuzzles his neck and skitters away with kisses.

They start unbuttoning their clothes.

"Percy," she whispers in his ear between kisses. The way Daelyn says his name makes Percy shiver.

_Percy_, someone calls his name in his head. It isn't Daelyn. It's a different voice –

Percy's breath hitches as Daelyn traces the contours of his chest. The voice in his head grows louder.

_Percy. Percy. Percy. Percy._

Her hand flies to the small of his back and instantly, Percy gasps in surprise. It's like somebody shocked him out of hangover. He pulls away and his green eyes focus on the face that is staring at him lovingly. He doesn't see Daelyn Brook's pretty face.

Percy sees Annabeth's face.

Percy blinks thrice, wondering if this is just a trick of the alcohol. He continues to see her face. Her eyes. Her nose. Her lips. Her hair. Every part of her is so painfully familiar and beautiful that his heart shatters.

Annabeth's lips curl into a small smile, letting him know that she approves of this, that she wants him to be happy. She kisses him, soft and sweet. All the memories of their fateful days together start flooding back to him.

_It's okay, Percy, _Annabeth's voice rings in his mind. _Don't worry about loving again one more time. I promise I'll be fine._

_I love you._

Percy pulls away, shoving Daelyn a little bit harder than necessary. He urges his eyes to focus again on her. He sees the discontent, hurt and confusion written across her face, and Percy utters a quick "I'm sorry" to her. Daelyn will probably be pissed the next morning for dumping her like that, but at that moment, he doesn't care. He grabs his plaid polo shirt and quickly dresses himself, and nimbly drives his car towards his apartment at Upper East Side, Manhattan.

~0~

He seeks solace in the apartment he's been living alone for nine years. He strides towards his – their – bedroom, hoping that he will see Annabeth there.

He doesn't.

He flops on his bed with a sound, not bothering to clean up and get dressed. He stares at the white ceiling above him.

He felt a trashing amount of guilt when he saw her face a while ago, and it makes him die a little more inside when he realizes that it will be the last time he'll ever see her again. Even though Percy spent the last hour making out with his co-worker, he knows Annabeth wasn't angry about it.

She's happy.

Grover and Nico were right. Of course Annabeth wants Percy to find someone to fill in the gaps she caused. It's always been clear from the start, when Annabeth held his hand at the moment she took her final breath…

Percy closes his eyes. He only wants her. He wants her so bad that he'll probably die with this longing, and damn the Fates for doing this to him. With the epiphany that striked him tonight, he's sure that he'll be more miserable than he's ever been. Annabeth's the only person who kept him going, the only person that grounded him to his worldly existence. How is he supposed to move on and do what Annabeth wants him to do if she'll never be there with him?

He'll never be truly happy.

The unfairness of the world crushes him. Even if he'll fall in love again, have kids with someone else, attend parent-teachers conferences, grow old, retire… it'll never be the same again. He'll never be happy with everything in the world.

But that's how things are supposed to be. A person can never be truly happy with everything. As remotely invulnerable as Percy can be, he's still human. He'll never be right. He'll still have his flaws.

He'll always make mistakes.

He'll apologize to Daelyn the next thing tomorrow. He hopes that she'll forgive him and that they can still be friends. Maybe their friendship will turn into something more.

Percy stands up and goes to his dresser. He opens the bottom compartment and pulls out a shiny gold ring cramped at a box at the back. He slips it on the ring finger of his right hand, knowing that Annabeth's name, soul and heart will always be engraved on that ring.

He smiles dimly.

He will keep his promise. He will always love her.

**_~Fin~_**


End file.
